Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice

This version of the Bennet family - and Mr. Darcy - is one that you have and haven't met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late 30s who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help - and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling, and the family is in disarray.

Prep

This New York Times best-seller is a funny and poignant coming-of-age story, a dead-on examination of adolescent angst, and a sharp criticism of America’s social structure. Fourteen-year-old Lee Fiora enrolls at the prestigious Ault School of Massachusetts and is surrounded by beautiful, wealthy students. She immediately feels like an outsider, but manages to carve out a niche for herself. Then everything falls apart when Lee’s private thoughts become public information.

The Man of My Dreams

Hannah Gavener is 14 in the summer of 1991. In the magazines she reads, celebrities plan elaborate weddings; in Hannah's own life, her parents' marriage is crumbling. And somewhere in between these two extremes, just maybe, lie the answers to love's most bewildering questions. But over the next decade and a half, as she moves from Philadelphia to Boston to Albuquerque, Hannah finds that the questions become more rather than less complicated.

Commonwealth

One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.

Sisterland: A Novel

From an early age, Kate and her identical twin sister, Violet, knew that they were unlike everyone else. Kate and Vi were born with peculiar "senses" - innate psychic abilities concerning future events and other people’s secrets. Though Vi embraced her visions, Kate did her best to hide them. Now, years later, their different paths have led them both back to their hometown of St. Louis. Vi has pursued an eccentric career as a psychic medium, while Kate, a devoted wife and mother, has settled down in the suburbs to raise her two young children. But when a minor earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the normal life Kate has always wished for begins to shift.

Truly Madly Guilty

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don't say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

The Nest

Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a 19-year-old waitress as his passenger.

Modern Lovers

Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth, Andrew, and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to suddenly pass the torch (of sexuality, independence, and the ineffable alchemy of cool) to their own offspring.

The Hopefuls: A Novel

When Beth arrives in DC, she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away.

New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline's world is forever changed when Hitler's army invades Poland in September 1939 - and then sets its sights on France. An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement.

Small Great Things: A Novel

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than 20 years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders, or does she intervene?

The Nix: A Novel

It's 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson - college professor, stalled writer - has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn't seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she's reappeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the Internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high school sweetheart.

The Wonder

In Emma Donoghue's latest masterpiece, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle - a girl said to have survived without food for months - soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life.

Julian Fellowes's Belgravia

Julian Fellowes's Belgravia is the story of a secret. A secret that unravels behind the porticoed doors of London's grandest postcode. Set in the 1840s, when the upper echelons of society began to rub shoulders with the emerging industrial nouveau riche, Belgravia is peopled by a rich cast of characters. But the story begins on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. At the Duchess of Richmond's new legendary ball, one family's life will change forever.

Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty

Labor Day 1976, Martha's Vineyard. Summering at the family beach house along this moneyed coast of New England, Fern and Edgar - married with three children - are happily preparing for a family birthday celebration when they learn that the unimaginable has occurred: There is no more money. More specifically, there's no more money in the estate of Fern's recently deceased parents, which, as the sole source of Fern and Edgar's income, had allowed them to live this beautiful, comfortable life despite their professed anti-money ideals.

Sweetbitter: A Novel

Shot from a mundane, provincial past, Tess comes to New York in the stifling summer of 2006. Alone, knowing no one, living in a rented room in Williamsburg, she manages to land a job as a backwaiter at a celebrated downtown Manhattan restaurant. This begins the year we spend with Tess as she starts to navigate the chaotic, enchanting, punishing, and privileged life she has chosen as well as the remorseless and luminous city around her. What follows is her education.

The Underground Railroad (Oprah's Book Club)

The Newest Oprah Book Club 2016 Selection. Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood - where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned - Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

You Will Know Me: A Novel

How far will you go to achieve a dream? That's the question a celebrated coach poses to Katie and Eric Knox after he sees their daughter, Devon, a gymnastics prodigy and Olympic hopeful, compete. For the Knoxes there are no limits - until a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community, and everything they have worked so hard for is suddenly at risk.

Missing, Presumed: A Novel

At 39, Manon Bradshaw is a devoted and respected member of the Cambridgeshire police force, and though she loves her job, what she longs for is a personal life. Single and distant from her family, she wants a husband and children of her own. One night, after yet another disastrous Internet date, she turns on her police radio to help herself fall asleep - and receives an alert that sends her to a puzzling crime scene.

Falling

When Emma Montague left the strict confines of upper-crust British life for New York, she felt sure it would make her happy. Away from her parents and expectations, she felt liberated, throwing herself into Manhattan life replete with a high-paying job, a gorgeous apartment, and a string of successful boyfriends. But the cutthroat world of finance and relentless pursuit of more began to take its toll. This wasn't the life she wanted either.

The Children: A Novel

Charlotte Maynard rarely leaves her mother's home, the sprawling Connecticut lake house that belonged to her late stepfather, Whit Whitman, and the generations of Whitmans before him. While Charlotte and her sister, Sally, grew up at Lakeside, their stepbrothers, Spin and Perry, were welcomed as weekend guests. Now the grown boys own the estate, which Joan occupies by their grace - and a provision in the family trust.

We Could Be Beautiful: A Novel

Catherine West has spent her entire life surrounded by beautiful things. She owns an immaculate Manhattan apartment, she collects fine art, she buys exquisite handbags and clothing, and she constantly redecorates her home. And yet, despite all this, she still feels empty. She sees her personal trainer, she gets weekly massages, and occasionally she visits her mother and sister on the Upper East Side, but after two broken engagements and boyfriends who wanted only her money, she is haunted by the fear that she'll never have a family of her own.

Opening Belle: A Novel

In 2008, Isabelle - a self-made 30-something Wall Street star - appears to have it all: an Upper West Side apartment, three healthy children, a handsome husband, and a high-powered job. But her reality is something else. Her trading-desk work environment resembles a 1980s frat party, her husband feels employment is beneath him, and the bulk of childcare and homecare still falls in Belle's already full lap.

Along the Infinite Sea

Each of the three Schuyler sisters has her own world-class problems, but in the autumn of 1966, Pepper Schuyler's problems are in a class of their own. When Pepper fixes up a beautiful and rare vintage Mercedes and sells it at auction, she thinks she's finally found a way to take care of herself and the baby she carries, the result of an affair with a married, legendary politician.

Publisher's Summary

On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband's presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, "almost in opposition to itself."

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was 17 shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck.

So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican Party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes president, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek, one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility.

As Charlie's tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

What the Critics Say

"What a remarkable (and brave) thing: a compassionate, illuminating, and beautifully rendered portrait of a fictional Republican first lady with a life and husband very much like our actual Republican first lady's. Curtis Sittenfeld has written a novel as impressive as it is improbable." (Kurt Andersen)

I'm a retired 72 year old who has been an Audible member since December 2006. I purchased and listened to this fictionalized political hit piece in May 2009 before Audible has a return policy. My review is 6+ years late. In reviewing my Audible, Kindle, and hardback/paperback purchases beginning in January 2007 I find that I have read or listened to over 1400 books during those 9 years. The list is approximately 15% non-fiction and 85% fiction. I browsing through the 1400+ titles American Wife stands out as clearly the worst book that I have read. It is disgusting!

The American wife is named Alice Blackwell, but is a thinly disguised Laura Welch Bush, wife of George W Bush. . The sad part is that many ignorant readers and reviewers view this totally fictionalized novel as a true description of Laura and George W Bush. It is not true folks; it is just trashy fiction.

Wow...what a book. The author weaves an intricate tapestry of characters, plots and history. Not politically offensive.....get the unabridged version...it's about 21 hours, but I found it hard to stop listening. Terrific writing. Worth the money/credit. I'm a new fan for sure!

I absolutely loved this title for many reasons. The reader was excellent and some might find the story lengthy but I feel it was worth it from beginning to end. The story was one that was so relevant to myself from the early teens through my 30's. The relationships, family struggles and society expectations always rang so true. Loved it. Hope you will too.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly - mostly because the writer is excellent. I sometimes agree with the hype about the fictionalization of real people and questioned at first whether or not Laura Bush would be a particularly charismatic subject, but I was won over. I think it's because of the combination of superb writing and thorough research. It's clear from the get-go that it's fiction, conjecture, just possibilities. I didn't come away with more sympathy for George W. Bush but with some understanding at least as to why she might see something in him and I also think more highly of her. Excellent narration as well.

I have read Sittenfeld's other books, Prep and The Man of My Dreams, and enjoyed both. I think she is a talented writer, so gave this book a chance.

I think her storyline is fascinating but only because it is modeled after Laura Bush. I wish she used her imagination to write a fresh work of fiction... or she could just stick to the facts and write a true biography about someone.

The last section of the book (the White House years) is incredibly disappointing, and I felt as though the author was just force-feeding me her anti-war, pro-choice views. I actually jumped ahead of a long rant about the War at one point.

The best parts of the book were those that focused on the characters, their day-to-day lives, and their personal stories. "Alice's" long musings about her life's decisions and Andrew (the character she kills in a car accident) get very old by the end of the book.

Charlie is a weak character who's faith and intelligence is mocked by Alice (and the author--another attempt to take a swipe at GWB and his Presidency.)

So, would I recommend this book? Yes - only if you have an interest in politics and lot of driving ahead of you. If it were a complete work of the author's imagination, it would be fascinating...but I found myself disgusted with the authors attempt to push her anti-Bush views on her audience via the main character--Alice Blackwell.

This book seemed to be Sittenfeld's way of sharing her own extremist liberal views behind the context of a 'in-her-mind-moderate' main character & narrator. She doubled her bet by allowing her main character to marry an idiotic man who happens to be a republican and never allows him a chance to share the real reasons behind his views. This very idiot happens to become the President of the United States. It was difficult to make it through the last two hours of listening due to such a one sided, unfair viewpoint,therefore making it very unbelievable.

It's impossible to listen without wondering what parts of the story are true. I'm not sure the story would be that interesting without the subtext of the "Bush Dynasty". The author's style is to write details down to the most minute, and at times it can be too much - just get to the story. But it's endurable if you can also imagine that the story is about Laura Bush. By itself the story would be too tedious and probably boring. The narrator was perfect for her character Alice. A mid-west wife, her voice and performance fit the character perfectly. She doesn't have too much range when she's speaking the parts of others, but it works because the entire story is told from Alice's point of view so in that sense you would expect to hear her husband's dialogue, for instance, as told by Alice. In all, the tie-in to an actual First Lady makes the story interesting but I find myself wondering, well did any of this actually happen, or is it just the author's fantasy of what she wishes Laura Bush did and felt? If the latter, what was the point of reading the story?

Although I wasn't a big fan of "Prep," author Curtis Sittenfeld does a great job with this fictionalized account of the Bush clan and Laura Bush. I found it surprisingly engrossing. I don't see at as fawning, as some reviewers have, but as a different perspective on the events of the last eight years - whether or not you are a fan of the Bushes. I also found her portrait of the Blackwell clan at Halcyon hysterical. You could actuially see these events happening. With the dead-on portraits Sittenfeld creates, it can be hard to remember that this is a work of fiction, after all. As with "Prep," I find a lot the prose in Sittenfeld's bedroom scenes to be somewhat jarring. It doesn't always seem necessary to go there. I did find the Alice character to be passive to the point of irritation but also finished the book wanting to know more about her model, the real Laura Bush.

Politics aside, the author does not make a convincing portrait of the character of the president. I found it inconceivable that the shallow buffoon depicted in Parts 1 and 2 would eventually occupy the White House, and the transition of his persona was not handled in a very convincing manner. From an internal narrative viewpoint, and from a character-development viewpoint the transition from privileged dilettante to world leader just seemed improbable.

I don't quite know why the wife needed to be cast as coming from a very middle class background - this made her part in the entire marriage look like a sellout. Of course she wouldn't leave her hard-drinking wealthy husband and all the perks of a high-end life. She runs away back to humble city, comes to her senses, suddenly and coincidentally her husband gets religion and is instantly sober! Vwalah, problem solved.

I kept wondering what the story would look like if the wife had more of a life of her own, was more of a player. As it is she just piggybacks on her husband's money and keeps her real opinions and beliefs to herself.

I did think the story was well-written, if a bit predictable in the beginning, but the book left me wondering as to the need for such a close approximation to real characters in real situations. Perhaps the dynamic would have been more interesting if the characters had been invented instead of derived from reality.